Daily Archives: October 31, 2017
Tally’s hauls big tuna from the woods
What would you do if you came across a 400-pound tuna in the woods? Perhaps a better question: What in the world was a dead tuna doing in the woods in the vicinity of Revere Street? Those are just some of the questions the Massachusetts Environmental Police and NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement are trying to answer in their investigation of who dumped the headless giant tuna in the woods. “I can’t really discuss it because it’s an ongoing investigation,” said Maj. Patrick Moran of the Environmental Police. Ditto for NOAA Fisheries’ law enforcement folks click here to read the story 18:30
Body of fishermen to be repatriated home
The body of a Portugese fisherman who died aboard a US flagged purse seiner last week will be repatriated later this week. Speaking to KHJ News yesterday the purse seiner captain, Alphonso Llawa, said the victim was his 44-year old brother and he was hoping to clear things up so he can take his body back home. click here to read the story 18:07
Fisherman claims DFO policy discriminates against disabled fishermen
A lobster fisherman from Granville Ferry is suing the federal government, claiming one of its licensing policies discriminates against disabled fishermen and is therefore unconstitutional. In a lawsuit filed Friday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court, Dana Robinson says the Department of Fisheries and Oceans can authorize a substitute to fish a licence if the owner has a medical condition, but that authorization expires after five years. click here to read the story 16:31
SEEKING HELP: West Coast Senators ask for disaster aid for fisheries in the next 2017 disaster funding package.
In a bipartisan push led by Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley, all eight West Coast Senators—Merkley, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) — today called on congressional leaders and the Trump administration to include disaster aid for fisheries in the next 2017 disaster funding package. click here to read the story 15:00
Judge invalidates all permits for fishing by aquarium trade
An Oahu Circuit Court order essentially called a halt Friday to the $2 million commercial aquarium trade in Hawaii until environmental reviews are performed. After seven weeks Circuit Judge Jeff Crabtree finally ruled in line with the Hawaii Supreme Court’s Sept. 6 opinion that existing state-issued commercial collectors’ permits are now illegal and invalid, and ordered the Department of Land and Natural Resources not to issue any new permits until collectors perform environmental reviews. click here to read the story 14:49
Dungeness crab season could be delayed again by the toxin domoic acid
Dungeness crab season is approaching in the Bay Area, along with all the rituals that come with it — the crab feeds and holiday dinners piled with crab legs, sourdough bread and crocks of melted butter. Unfortunately, there’s another, more recent local tradition that is also back: uncertainty about whether algal blooms will delay the season. Domoic acid is the naturally occurring toxin caused by algal blooms that delayed the past two Dungeness crab seasons. According to test results from the California Department of Public Health, elevated levels of the toxin have shown up in samples of Dungeness crab collected in recent weeks at several North Coast ports. However, the agency said it’s too soon to say whether domoic acid will delay the commercial Dungeness fishery, due to open Nov. 15. click here to read the story 11:05
Prelude to war – A news analysis
The mayor of Kenai, Alaska is “extremely disappointed” with the Alaska Board of Fisheries, and the mayor of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough less than pleased but “satisfied” with the Board’s big compromise. The big compromise itself? The Board will avoid both Wasilla and Kenai in favor of a 2020 meeting in Anchorage. So contentious has become the issue of Cook Inlet fishery management that politicians now argue over minutiae while the bigger issues plaguing the Inlet’s fisheries are ignored. click here to read the story 10:46
Cairns remembers mateship of seven men aboard F/V Dianne
Mateship. The word stood one metre high in white across the stage at Cairns’ Munro Martin Parklands, where the community gathered to reflect on the bond of seven mates from slug boat Dianne, while local singer Andrea Mullens sung Stand by Me, Hallelujah, Candle in the Wind and The Sailor’s Hymn.,, Speaking to hundreds of people gathered for the community reflection on Tuesday night, Dianne’s second crew skipper Adam Kelly, who was not on the boat that day, said he was thankful and privileged to have spent time with his mates. “They’ll always be legends in my eyes – every single one of them,” he said. click here to read the story 10:28
Coast Guard rescues four fishermen near South Padre Island, vessel sinks
Coast Guard crews rescued four fishermen from a sinking commercial fishing vessel 5 miles east of South Padre Island, Texas, Monday evening. At 6:20 p.m., the captain of the vessel Ben & Casey contacted Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi watchstanders on VHF Channel 16 to report the vessel was taking on water and in need of assistance. Two Coast Guard Station South Padre Island response boat crews arrived on scene at 6:41 p.m. and passed dewatering pumps to the crew of the Ben & Casey. click here to read the story 09:43
First Nation groups in Newfoundland and Labrador coming together to apply for new surf clam licence
The Qalipu Mi’kmaq First Nation Band is looking at getting in on another fishing enterprise. Earlier this year, Qalipu announced it was teaming up with the Barry Group in pursuing a quota to harvest ocean perch off western Newfoundland. Monday, three Indigenous groups from Newfoundland and Labrador, including Qalipu, the Miawpukek First Nation and the Innu Nation, announced they will be partnering to apply for a new Artic surf clam licence being made available by the federal government. click here to read the story 09:20
Doubt surrounds stranded sailors as Coast Guard reveals women had emergency beacon and never activated it
The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday that the two Hawaii women who say they were lost at sea never activated their emergency beacon, adding to a growing list of inconsistences that cast doubt on the women’s harrowing tale of survival. Parts of their story have been called into question, including the tropical storm the two say they encountered on their first night at sea in May. National Weather Service records show no organized storms in the region in early May. When asked if the two had the radio beacon aboard, the women told the AP on Friday they had a number of other communications devices, but they didn’t mention the EPIRB. click here to read the story 08:37
Last Hope: Coast Guard Alaska Search and Rescue
Every year boats from Washington state head to Alaska for one of the most dangerous jobs known to man: commercial fishing. Those crews often face hurricane-force winds and giant waves. So, there is a dedicated group of people ready to jump at a moment’s notice to keep them safe. It’s 5:00 a.m. in Kodiak, Alaska – where only a few fishing vessels still sit idle. Most are on the open sea for salmon season, but on this morning, the crew of the Laguna Star prepares to head out for weeks in search of a big catch. Sitting in a salvage yard a mile away is another vessel – the Miss Destinee, just seven days after a wave capsized the boat. Two deckhands drowned inside. click here to read the story 08:02
